Tuesday, April 12, 2016

It's in the plane, it's on the ecliptic, it's zodiacal light!

Dear Sky-Eyed,

I can hardly contain my newfound enthusiasm for this dark-sky spring (or fall) time visible phenomenon: zodiacal light or false dawn. False dawn! Oh, the beauty of that phrase! What might a false dawn signify? The untrue fiancé, the early miscarriage, the brilliant idea that flops? So many allusions to consider.... Still, what is this fabulous offering from our earth's past? Nothing but dust! I know! Isn't it just terrific! Can you feel your mind gently unfurling with possibilities?

If you haven't seen zodiacal light, you will want to make a pilgrimage to a dark place and seek it out- You will need dark, and you will need a nearness to twilight or sunrise. I saw it a few days ago, in a place very dear to me, The Land of the Alluvial Fans. To be sure, I saw the night owl preferred 'false dusk,' but I find that term a little less poetically-charged, don't you?

Yes, I think a song to celebrate this new knowledge is just what we need. Maybe just one more? I could listen to this one over and over.